Hamden Man Sentenced For Trafficking Narcotics In Southwest Connecticut
Wednesday, July 16, 2025, 11:30 A.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,
HARTFORD, CT.- On Monday, a 30-year-old Hamden, Connecticut, man learned he would be spending the next twelve years in federal prison after being sentenced for distributing large quantities of illicit narcotics, including the deadly drug cocktail containing fentanyl and xylazine throughout the Southwestern Connecticut area.
According to U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan, on Monday, July 14, 2025, Christian Pichardo, also known as “Swerve,” Craig,” and “Bobby Shmurda,” 30, of Hamden, Connecticut, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Michael P. Shea to 144 months in federal prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release for his previously entered guilty plea to federal narcotics trafficking charges.
Pichardo Pleads Guilty In April 2025
Pichardo, who has been detained since his arrest on August 5, 2024, appeared in the U.S. District Court on April 3, 2025, and pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute, and to Possess with Intent to Distribute 40 Grams or More of a Controlled Substance, Fentanyl, and Quantities of Cocaine, Heroin, and other Opioids.
According To Court Documents
According to charging documents filed with the District Court, during a narcotics investigation, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the Bridgeport Police Department identified Pichardo as a significant distributor of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and counterfeit oxycodone pills in Southwestern Connecticut.
During the investigation, Investigators intercepted phone conversations and text messages between Pichardo and his associates, as well as drug customers, over federal court-authorized wiretaps. Investigators also made multiple controlled buys of various narcotics and seized illicit narcotics from Pichardo, his associates, and drug customers.
Some of the narcotics seized had been cut with fentanyl and xylazine, a large animal tranquilizer, known to be a deadly mixture. The investigation also uncovered that Pichardo maintained a residence on Norman Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut, to store narcotics.
Grand Jury Returns A Superseding Indictment
On July 17, 2024, a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Bridgeport, Connecticut, returned a superseding indictment charging Pichardo and seven others with multiple federal controlled substances offenses.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan commended the investigative work of members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Bridgeport Safe Streets Task Force and the Bridgeport Police Department, which led to the successful prosecution of Pichardo.
